What does an intimacy coordinator do?
In recent years, the entertainment industry, particularly Hollywood, has discussed at length the role of the intimacy coordinator. However, the title of the role itself isn’t quite as clear-cut as that of a director, an actor, or a camera operator, so the question remains: just what does an intimacy coordinator do on a film or TV show’s production?
Firstly, the intimacy coordinator will work closely with film directors, writers, and producers during pre-production to understand which scenes might require supervision. By understanding a scene’s requirements, particularly sexual content or physical intimacy, the IC can prepare to help actors set personal boundaries and choreograph how such moments should be staged.
The next step is for an IC to sit down in private meetings with the actors to understand to what degree they are comfortable with either having or simulating sex in front of the camera with their co-star(s). These conversations allow everyone involved in a film’s production to understand the limits that every other cast/crew member is willing to go to create a particular scene, which should, in theory, eliminate the possibility of anyone feeling uncomfortable during filming.
During that shooting process, the IC is present to maintain the pre-set choreography and ensure that the actors feel comfortable and safe. Constant monitoring of safety and boundaries takes place as the scene is shot, and should any discomfort or distress be signalled, the IC will step in to readdress the scene with the actors, director and anyone else who may be present. The IC will also ensure that physical barriers are used to protect an actor from anyone who does not need to see what is happening off-camera as the scene goes ahead.
Finally, once the scene is completed, the IC will frequently be present during the editing phase of a movie’s production. This is so that the actors’ boundaries are also respected when an editor and director piece together the final cut of their work and so that when the film is released, the cast feels comfortable with it being shown to a wider audience without shame or fear.
Recently, there has been a big split in Hollywood concerning the role of the intimacy coordinator. For instance, Michael Douglas has claimed that those in the role take away control from the actors and filmmakers who create the actual films. “In my experience, you take responsibility as the man to make sure the woman is comfortable. You talk it through,” the Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction star said. “You say, ‘OK, I’m gonna touch you here if that’s all right’. It’s very slow but looks like it’s happening organically, which is hopefully what good acting looks like.”
However, actor and director Greta Gerwig also expressed her thoughts on the intimacy coordinator being essential to creating a safe environment in a film’s production, especially in light of the #MeToo movement in Hollywood. “They make perfect sense,” the Barbie and Little Women director explained. “It’s like a fight choreographer. Nobody would ever say, ‘Just take these swords and see what happens. Just duel a little and see where the spirit takes you’. That’s insane.”
Clearly, there seems to be a divide between men and women in Hollywood regarding the necessity of having an intimacy coordinator present in a film’s production. Sean Bean, like Michael Douglas, felt that an IC could “inhibit” an actor’s performance, while others, particularly women, insisted on the surety of having an IC present.
In light of that, it’s clear that intimacy coordinators are necessary to make not only women but all actors feel that they are in an environment where they can perform in sex scenes and scenes of physical intimacy without fear of their co-stars overstepping their personal boundaries. As more information comes to light concerning sexual abuse and harassment in Hollywood and global cinema, an intimacy coordinator ought to be the first name on the call sheet.
What are some of the famous movie sex scenes?
There have been several sex scenes to arrive on screen throughout cinema history, and many of them have become notorious for a variety of reasons. As far as the best sex scenes of all time go, it’s hard to look beyond Nicolas Roeg’s film Don’t Look Now, which departs from the kind of over-produced Hollywood sex scenes of note. Instead, Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland’s characters engage in a sex scene brimming with unfiltered reality and honesty amid their grievances.
There have also been a handful of unsimulated sex scenes in cinematic history whereby actors are indeed actually having sex rather than just pretending. Movies like Gaspar Noe’s Enter the Void and Love, Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac and Antichrist and John Waters’ Pink Flamingos all feature unsimulated sex scenes.
Elsewhere, some movies have some truly disturbing sex scenes, like in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange, David Cronenberg’s Crash and Nagisa Oshima’s In the Realms of the Sense, while still further films like Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris and Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom, have been banned because of their explicit sex scenes.